Banská Bystrica in central Slovakia will use a €20 million European Investment Bank (EIB) loan and a €5 million European Union grant to fund about 100 infrastructure projects over the next four years.
The funding package totals €25 million and will be used for investments ranging from roads to schools across the region, which has more than 600,000 residents, the EIB informed in a release on Monday.
Planned works include upgrades to social care facilities in Krupina and Svätý Anton, improvements to schools in Banská Bystrica and Zvolen, and reconstruction of a road linking the city of Banská Bystrica to the ski resort in Šachtička.
The projects are expected to cover all districts in the region, which accounts for about a fifth of Slovakia’s territory and has more than 2,000 kilometres of second- and third-class roads.
First Slovak region to use EU facility
Banská Bystrica is the first Slovak region to benefit from the EU’s Public Sector Loan Facility — a scheme that combines EIB loans with EU grants — under the Just Transition Mechanism, the EIB said.
The grant component is being provided through the EU’s Just Transition Mechanism, which is designed to support regions affected by the shift towards climate neutrality by mid-century.
The EIB loan and EU grant will accelerate a regional investment programme worth about €36.5 million.
EIB Vice-President Marek Mora said the bank was working with local authorities to combine its financing with other funding sources such as EU grants.
Ondrej Lunter, chairman of the Banská Bystrica Self-Governing Region, said the funding would help speed up investments intended to have a “tangible impact” on people in the region.
